372 
TRAVELS m AFRICA. Chap. LXXXIII. 
is joined by a more southerly one which passes by 
Gezdwa, but not the same track which I had pursued 
on my former journey. Here we continued on, at an 
accelerated pace, as all the people whom we met were 
flying in haste before Bokhdri. Thus we passed Diik- 
awa, a considerable village, fortified with a keffi, and 
surrounded with numbers of monkey-bread trees, 
which at present were destitute of foliage, although 
the fruit was just ripening. As the heat became rather 
oppressive, especially as we were not provided with 
water, all the ponds being now dried up, I rode in ad- 
vance to Hobiri, fortified, like most of the hamlets here- 
abouts, with a stockade, and adorned outside by large 
tamarind and monkey-bread trees, and, while watering 
the horses, refreshed mj^self with a little sour-milk. 
Passino^ then throimh a dense forest, I reached the well 
in front of the town of Gerki. My people had already 
arrived, but had not yet succeeded in obtaining the 
smallest quantity of water, the well, although not very 
deep, being rather poor, considering the number -of 
people which it had to suppl}^ I had, in conse- 
quence, to pay 300 shells for supplying the wants of 
myself and my animals. Not feeling any greater in- 
clination this time to encamp inside Gerki than I had 
done on my former journey, I chose my own camping- 
ground on the north side of the town. It was a pleasant 
spot ; but, unfortunately, it was too near a large 
monkey-bread tree, which in the course of the night 
afforded to an audacious thief an excellent cover, 
under which to proceed twice to a very clever per- 
